264,584 in 2006 (estimate), divided between four municipalities of Belize (population: 17,693), Buco Zau (40,019), Cabinda (185,924) and Cacongo (20,948). Cabinda is an Angolan exclave, which means that it is not connected to the rest of Angola by land. It borders the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Republic of the Congo to the north, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the east and south. The DR Congo territory along the north bank of the Congo River separates Cabinda from the Angolan mainland. More than 3,500 people of Cabinda live in refugee camps in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and in the Republic of the Congo. Climate State insignia Flag Two different flag designs seem to be in use, one with the monument of Simulambuco, and one with the green triangle and the white star. The white star can be seen sometimes pointing up, sometimes pointing down. The order of the colors of the tricolor can change too. Coat of Arms Just one Coat of Arms is in use, as shown in the gallery below. History Background The Republic of Cabinda traces its claims to self-sovereignty to its initial status as a Portuguese protectorate, known as the Portuguese Congo This protectorate had a separate history and legal status from that of the much larger Portuguese West Africa, dating to its inception on 19 September 1883. Also, in the Treaty of Simulambuco and the Berlin Conference in 1885, Cabinda and Angola were treated as distinct entities. From inception onwards, Cabinda experienced several changes of status within the Portuguese framework, oscillating between positions of relative autonomy and integration within the greater Colony (or Province) of Angola. The agreement of turn of the century Great Britain with Portugal as to jurisdiction boundaries, reached to counter the French and Belgians next door in the Congos, triggered the Scramble for Africa when the latter, not to mention the Germans, expressed disagreement. In May 2019, repression was reported in Cabinda. Relations with Angola During the movement for Angolan independence in the 1960s, the situation became more complex. In May 1963 the Organization of African Unity (OAU) ranked Cabinda as the 39th state still to be decolonized and Angola as the 35th. In the early 1960s, several independence movements advocating a separate status for Cabinda came into being. The Movement for the Liberation of the Enclave of Cabinda (MLEC) was formed in 1960 under